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On the heels of a successful Mass Effect Remastered Trilogy launch, BioWare is already hard at work on its next game, Dragon Age 4. However, unlike the Mass Effect trilogy, it will not be coming to the PS4 and Xbox One consoles. BioWare has seemingly made the decision to leave last-gen consoles behind, whether gamers are ready or not. Sources are pointing to the LinkedIn profile of a former employee as evidence that BioWare is developing Dragon Age 4 for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles only.
A report by VentureBeat cites the LinkedIn profile of a developer formerly employed at BioWare. In his resume credentials, Daniel Nordlander listed that he worked as the Lead Play Designer on Dragon Age 4 at BioWare until October 2020 and listed PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Additional inquiries by VentureBeat and other outlets confirm that there are no plans for a last-gen build of the game and Dragon Age 4 will only release on new-gen consoles.
EA itself is still supporting last-gen consoles, as FIFA 22 released in early October and Battlefield 2042 expected in November will be cross-gen releases. As time passes though, that list of games still expected to be cross-gen may begin to wane. Aside from future sports entries like NHL, Madden, and F1, EA may be ready to consolidate its studios to develop solely for new-gen consoles.
With reports stating that Dragon Age 4 may release in 2023, it's not all that surprising that the game may only release on those platforms. The intermediate area between console upgrades is an awkward time for gamers and developers alike. Even more so, giving everything happening concurrently with this generation's upgrade cycle. It may have been the hope of some to get a reprive as to how long to keep supporting last-gen consoles.
EA and BioWare expect (or hope) that by the time Dragon Age 4 is ready for launch, the circumstances around PS5 and Xbox Series X console shortages will have subsided enough to comfortably leave that generation behind. It is worth noting that launch is still so far out, Dragon Age 4 may even slip deep into 2023 or 2024, depending on how well development goes, giving even more time to fans that want to commit to a new-gen console.
Dragon Age 4 is in development and is aiming for release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023.
Source: VentureBeat